mrbear666 wrote:no worries i love seeing everyones food pics here as im not very adventurous in cooking lol im sure youll sweat the salt out in no time!

Really? I thought I was the boring one, pretty much eating only beans, lentils (also beans), green beans (notice a theme here?), apples, and oatmeal!

I've managed to live in a pattern of fluctuating between 161 - 167 over the past few months. I love craft beer, which is next to impossible for me to give up, and allow myself a cheat meal once per week (which sometimes stretches to brunch the next day), and end up gaining a few pounds overnight. Then, by the end of the following week, I'm back to where I was. Essentially, I maintain, yet make little progress. It's actually pretty annoying, given how careful I am diet-wise during the week. My body fat % has been stagnant as well, never going below 18% - which is driving me insane.

Not sure if I should eat more (less hasn't really been working, other than to drop pounds), or exercise more/less. I usually do about 4 sessions per week (4-5hours total per week), and consume between 1600 - 2000 cals per day (5'7", 161-167lbs). Any tips?

Sweat out a TON of beer, and salt I took in over the weekend. Came home and had a huge salad with garbanzos, beluga lentils, and red quinoa. I'm thinking I'll sleep pretty well tonight. Sorry for no pic on the salad - I ate it all by the time I got to this part of the post. Back tomorrow!

Did a circuit even though as I was starting I really didn't feel like training at all... I hate training once it gets past 6:00pm, especially since it is now dark out by 7:00. But anyway, I went ahead and got one in which wasn't too bad - such a drama queen! Hopefully it was worthwhile. Took a couple progress pics afterward which I have included below. Sorry for the blurryness - I was totally winded, and flexing when I took the pics. Would REALLY like to see some of that lingering belly fat go away, and not quite sure how to take care of it - other than to tighten up my diet over the weekends.

Hint: I would love some suggestions from those reading this...

Had a big salad for dinner again, which filled me up perfectly. Back in action tomorrow for leg day!

The long jumps were brutal, especially after all the other work. It was nice to catch a break from all the HIIT work I've been doing lately, but I certainly wish to return as I saw some pretty decent progress over the week. Looking forward to resting for a couple days, and will probably get in on Sunday - or maybe Saturday unless I'm too hungover

Not a lot of time today as we have company in town. Managed to get this out of the way, which makes me happy I'm not wasting a day. Had some pain in my left lower trapezius; did some tennis ball massage today, and felt better - even better after training. Here's what I had for lunch:

food looking great again! i really need to put some effort into my cooking, i normally just go for quantity over quality lol is TRX one of those cable sled type machines where you can do all kinds of exercises with your bodyweight?

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mrbear666 wrote:food looking great again! i really need to put some effort into my cooking, i normally just go for quantity over quality lol is TRX one of those cable sled type machines where you can do all kinds of exercises with your bodyweight?

Thanks man, this was a really simple recipe - basically just beans, bulgur, some curry sauce from Trader Joe's, uh, squash(?), sriracha, dill, and some chutney also from Trader Joe's.

The TRX are the suspension trainer bands that you can hang from a bar, or other kind of support (trees, etc.) that allow bodyweight training. They are actually pretty sweet. However, the brand name TRX bands are kind of expensive ($200) with all the bells and whistles. I found some on Amazon for just over $50, but they don't include all of the extra crap that I probably wouldn't use anyhow. The ones I use are called Freestyle Trainer. I think they were developed for people into gymnastics and ring training. Here's the website: http://www.ringtraining.com/. These are great if you're looking for some at home training w/o weights, or want to do some full body exercise with b/w resistance. Plus, they are effortless as far as changing positions goes. No need for any accompanying videos, or training guides, as there are a ton of resources online for exercises online (youtube, etc.).

If you're bored with your gear at home, I would highly recommend. They are pretty fun!

I'm still too paranoid to eat quantity-wise. If I gain a pound or two I tend to freak out. I suppose it might be necessary though, given I am trying to trade fat for muscle.

Worked with the trainer today, and did some interesting stuff. He had this card game set up, with dice - apparently called the "Wildcard Workout." Basically, you roll the dice, and that goes to which exercise you do, and then you draw a card, and that tells you how many reps, or how long you perform each exercise. In all, it was fun, and on one such occasion, I ended up doing three straight minutes of mountain climbers. So, not really a walk in the park.

What sucks is that I've noticed this nagging pain in my left shoulder (teres minor/major, and infraspinatus fascia area, for the anatomy geeks). It's not a sharp pain, but sort of feels like I've pulled on my arm a little, away from my body. I really notice it when I run, and my left foot hits the floor. Anyhow, I've been foam rolling it, and using a tennis ball to loosen up the area. I hope it just goes away. I would really hate to have surgery, or some crap like that - man that would just piss me off something awful.

Here's what I had for dinner! Big salad with lentils, romaine, squash, and some dressing I made up on the fly (basically oil free), oh and some green onions, which I love. Also had a small serving of left over soup from Sunday; with a TON of Sriracha. Man, I love that stuff.

I came home later than usual, and found that my wife's T25 DVD's had arrived. T25 is Shaun T's "newest workout craze only 25 minutes five days per week to get SHREDDED!!!" It was much later than I usually work out, and I didn't feel like writing a routine, nor did I feel like doing the same old shit I always do - so I though, what the hell, and gave it a shot. Luckily there were two core focused workouts in the package. Thus, this isn't a review of the entire DVD box set, or even a review at all, but I'll give my thoughts on the DVD I did.

It was basically three or four exercises, done a couple times over, with a bit of cardio stuff in between. The focus was mainly on the upper and lower abs, and all but ignored obliques. Mostly, I was doing leg raises and toe touches. There was about a minute or two focused on the "rear core muscles" a/k/a a reverse crunch, which surprised me a little. Honestly though, it wasn't that difficult. However, I did break a pretty good sweat, but maybe that was because it's f-ing freezing outside and I had the heat turned up pretty good. Either way, I'm sure I burned at least a few hundred calories.

Had a HUGE salad for dinner, but was so hungry I destroyed it before I could get a picture. Left arm still feels funky, am thinking I pinched a nerve or something like that. I have sort of this tingling "cold" feeling running down my bicep. Really wish this would go away.

Did this basically as a single circuit, with random rest periods in between; no longer than a minute though each time, total of 4. The pullups were a real bitch. Not sure those ever get easier. Also, the medicine ball slams, with all of that cardio, were pretty tough as well. It's interesting how disjointed my workouts have been lately. I am seeing results though: lost four pounds this week, and dropped 1% body fat - awesome!

This felt great today! Really liked doing strength exercise followed by power stuff. I can't believe I even did box jumps on my own, with no provocation, as I typically hate those more than most other exercises. Goal today is to drink a TON of water since I'll be indulging in some beers tonight at this Halloween Party. My costume is "Drowned Sailor," which goes along with my wife's "Sea Siren" costume; she drew me out to sea and I drowned. Found an authentic US Navy uniform, which fits like a glove, and makes me look ripped - which is awesome. Anyhow, came home from the gym and had a red pear, and a nice bean salad I made up quickly. I LOVE BEANS!

Badass workout tonight. Felt really great to get back into it after taking a couple days off. I think I was getting depressed without my pump (and the resultant endorphin rush). Came home and made a wholly awesome salad, with romaine, split peas, zucchini, and carrots (pic below).

I'm really going to start getting into animal rights activism. I came across this Mercy for Animals video today depicting treatment of little piglets at a commercial factory farm, supported by WalMart (my most hated corporate entity of all time). It was absolutely horrendous. These piglets have their tails, and testicles, cut off without any anaesthesia. They scream in agony as they are left to suffer with open wounds. The video showed factory workers slamming these baby pigs on the floor, and leaving them at their feet while they endured seizures prior to a horrible death. WHO THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE!?!?! How could anyone do such a thing and live with themselves? If I ever encountered such activity, I would slit the throat of that worker without any feeling whatsoever. Actually no, I would enjoy it, and would feel confident that I made the world a better place.

Ahh leg day. I probably should have done three sets of each, but I was feeling tired, and definitely had not eaten enough today. I did have a vegan banh mi sammich for lunch, which was pretty good. Kind of another shit day at the office. Been feeling really down lately, as nothing is happening at work (literally, nothing), and wondering where I am going to end up after this job (which is decidedly temporary). Would really like to have something long term, very long term. Also considering more education (MBA), to add to the law degree; but it is very expensive, as was the J.D. Not sure if that's the right move or not, even though the timing may be right.